Unincorporated Jefferson County resident Joe Holgerson voted “no” on the proposal and said the district needed to learn to make do with less like everyone else.

“Maybe we need to look at what their mission is and evaluate when they need to roll those trucks,” Holgerson said. “I’m of the belief that the solution isn’t always to spend, spend, spend.”

A record 33,148 residents in the West Metro Fire Protection District cast votes. Had the measure passed, owners of property valued at $300,000 would have paid an extra $72 a year in taxes, generating an additional $8.6 million annually for the district.

Instead, the measure lost by 860 votes.

Fire Chief Don Lombardi said response times will be longer and fewer personnel will be on scene of emergencies.

“I can tell you catastrophic things happen from a fire perspective when we have longer response times,” Lombardi said.

The fiscal problems began in 2009 with foreclosures and declining property values, which meant a loss of revenue for the district.

Property values are still down 4.5 percent, and the reserve funds must be replenished before more money can be spent elsewhere.

Lombardi said the district won’t respond in a “knee-jerk reaction” but will have to look carefully at where to reduce staffing while doing a cost/benefit analysis of where best to cut services while minimizing the risk to citizens.

The district provides service to 247,648 people in Lakewood and Morrison, parts of Golden and Wheat Ridge, parts of unincorporated Jefferson County, and Roxborough and Waterton Canyon in Douglas County.

The proposal for a tax increase “was all about maintaining our current high level of service,” Lombardi said. “What this comes back down to now is we’re going to have to change our service delivery model. Unfortunately, everyone in the community is going to be impacted by this.”

Former Lakewood Fire District Board President Anne Schmidt said she voted “yes” on the measure. She said any savings made by not raising property taxes will be more than offset by an increase in homeowners insurance.

“It’s a very sad day,” Schmidt said. “We had a wonderful fire protection district and I hope we can keep it.”

When asked about concerns voiced by residents about the need to send a fire engine to medical emergencies and the fact that most calls are not fire-related, Lombardi said he believed residents get a good bargain because West Metro firefighters are cross-trained as medics.

He added they’re also trained in swift-water rescue, have a dive team, hazardous material certification and are trained to work across a wide range of urban, mountain and rural emergencies.

“Especially since 9/11, what people have asked of us to is to become not just a fire department but be an all-hazards agency…” Lombardi said “They look to the fire department to do this because no one else is going to do it.”

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